Budget talks collapse

The House and the Senate failed to hammer out a budget deal yesterday in yet another stalemate that is expected to force the government to use previous approved spending level to operate for the next nine months of FY 2001.

House Ways and Means Committee chair Antonio M. Camacho informed the Senate that they were ending the bicameral conference after three previous meetings produced no pact.

But his counterpart Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee chair Sen. Edward U. Maratita said they would still press for a compromise with the House by early next year since there is no official word yet on the dissolution of the joint committee.

The bicameral conference convened on Dec. 15 in an effort to reach a consensus on the FY 2001 budget following differences on how to divide the cash resources of the government.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio submitted a $221.66 million funding level which would oil operations of all departments and agencies from Oct. 1, 2001 to Sept. 30, 2001.

“We’re still on standby,” Mr. Maratita told in an interview. “We are awaiting official words from the House to find out whether the budget talks collapsed.”

The Rota senator maintained the upper house would push for approval of the budget, although he acknowledged the difficulties in coming up with a compromise.

“It is very hard task but I believe that for every problem, there’s always a solution,” added Mr. Maratita.

Firm

The House, however, is firm in its decision not to pass the FY 2001 budget anymore since they can’t see eye-to-eye with the Senate on several provisions and appropriation items of the measure.

Among those in question were the $700,000 allocation for lobbying campaign in Washington D.C., the $16 million funding level for each of the Rota and Tinian municipalities, and the earmarking of $1 million from the MVA budget to create new offices on each of the island.

They also differed on how to address the long-delayed retroactive salary of close to 2,000 employees of the government who have been awaiting the 14 percent increase under PL 7-31 since 1991.

“Since we have disagreements on how the resources will be divided among departments and agencies as well as the three senatorial districts, we decided that it’s in the best interest of the other vital programs to continue for the next three quarters under the continuing resolution,” said House Floor Leader Oscar M. Babauta.

Under this scheme, the government follows the funding level of the FY 1998 budget — the last one approved by lawmakers — of $242 million to appropriate the $221.66 million to all the departments and agencies.

While the bicameral committee tinkered with the idea of having piecemeal budget for the Public Schools System, DPH, DPS and the Judicial Branch, the proposal fell apart due to serious constitutional questions.

The lower house also felt that the government should have instead a unified budget acceptable to both the Legislature and the administration as has been recommended by the governor, said Mr. Babauta.

Flexible

He stressed having to go into continuing resolution would provide Mr. Tenorio greater flexibility in managing the resources of the government, particularly in crucial programs and services.

“The governor is granted under the law to invoke his authority on spending limits over future allocation of funds to the agencies and departments,” added the Saipan representative.

Despite the disparity in the funding level between the two fiscal years, Mr. Babauta is optimistic that there will be no budget deficit by Sept. 30 next year as the administration has been successful in implementing cost-cutting measures.

“If the governor continues to adhere to its austerity programs to which we have seen savings, funding vital elements of operations of the government such as health, school and public safety is assured,” he said.

Differences on how to distribute cash resources of the government have come to mark the budget process in the Legislature in the past few years, mainly due to the decline in revenues and jostling for bigger share that have made it difficult to reach a compromise.

Mr. Tenorio previously has said he would not step into the fray between the Senate and the House on the budget despite invitation from the bicameral committee to do so.